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 Chondromalacia patella is a condition affecting the lining of the kneecap. Chondromalacia means "softening of the cartilage", and Patella is the medical name for "the kneecap".
The back of the kneecap is covered by specialised articular cartilage that articulates with the knee joint. When it is normal and healthy this cartilage is smooth and shiny, and glides smoothly over the front of the knee along the articular groove of the femur (thigh bone) as the knee bends. When it "softens", it may become rough and break down, causing irregularities on the back of the patella.
The typical patient is a teenage girl complaining of pain in the front of her knee around the knee-cap. There is often grating or crunching behind the kneecap.
The pain comes and goes, but is usually aggravated by squatting, kneeling, going down stairs, jumping and athletics. Repeated bending of the knees causes pain.
Although girls are more often affected, boys can have this problem too.
In the early stages, there is often no breakdown of the articular cartilage of the patella. This may be called "Anterior knee pain syndrome" , "Patellofemoral stress syndrome" or "noisy knee".
In most patients, the pain comes and goes for a few years until the end of adolescence when growth is complete. At that point, the pain often goes away permanently or may return again in the late 30's. In others, the pain gets increasingly worse during the teenage years. The articular cartilage of the patella may actually break down and surgical treatment may be necessary. |
